Revolutionary Moderation

Another try at my earlier post.



On the eve, literally, of war, I want to get this out of the way, so no one will accuse me of using the bodies of American and Iraqi dead as rhetorical fodder. Even the cleanest, most precise war imaginable will destroy lives, devastate families, and create new hatreds on top of old. These results are not debating points, these are human beings. The National Security Council has no calculus on human suffering, apparently, so off we go.



But aside from that, let`s consider three possibilities:



--- Iraq still has weapons of mass destruction, and lots of them, as the US has claimed, and Saddam Hussien will use them during this conflict.

--- Iraq still has weapons of mass destruction, and lots of them, as the US has claimed, but Saddam Hussien will not use them during this conflict.

--- Iraq is rid of their weapons of mass destruction.



If the first is true, there will be many, many American soldiers who won`t come home. Or Israelis who won`t live to see the end of the conflict. Or Iraqis. For twelve years, we have successfully discouraged the use of these weapons through containment. Now, if the weapons exist, aggression will have the opposite effect to what the hawks claims to want.



If the third is true, this is a pointless war. I pray for this to be the case, because it will make the war zone much, much safer for civilians and soldiers alike. Not safe, but safer... they`re called weapons of MASS destruction for a reason. I happen to believe the third is true, and that Iraq is essentially disarmed of WMD.



Can we safely dismiss the second possibility? Saddam is cornered, now... can we assume he will use every weapon at his disposal to stay alive and free as long as possible? Good job, President Bush, giving this dangerous man nothing to lose.



This is why, if American and British soldiers ride intro Baghdad and start finding these weapons, and none of them have been used, I will be the first to cry "shenanigans". The Americans have lied to us, fabricated photos and evidence to rationalise this irrational war, and they will do it again. (Some very attractive links may be added to this later... the loss of my first post on the subject has left me too frustrated to want to seek them out again just now.)



My advice to you as we enter into this dangerous time is keep reading widely, dust and oil the bullshit detectors, and think, always think. Don't get sucked into conspiracy theroies. The war isn't a Zionist plot, isn't the Trilateral Commission, isn't coming from the brain trust at Haliburton. It's stupid, scared humans who have lost their ability to make rational decisions. Stay focused, stay rational, do not get sucked into the spiral of fear and anger. The fight about the justification --- the justice --- of this war is not over.